Reliability of effort estimates in offshore software companies in Sri Lanka : case study in a global offshore organization

Abstract

The aim of the research described in this thesis is to find out the reasons affecting the reliability of project estimates in Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations, and to propose corrective measures to mitigate those issues. A case study was conducted to identify the issues faced during the estimation process and the case study was based on one of the leading offshore software development organizations in Sri Lanka. The findings of this research demonstrate that there exists number of shortcomings in the current estimation process. The recommendations made as a result of this research study indicate a need for much emphasis on current estimation process for the Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations. Keywords: Software effort estimates, Expert estimates, Offshore Software Development, Estimation process, Factors affecting reliability of estimates, Estimation accuracy.